United MileagePlus Club Business Credit Card Review

Tom Broucksou

Who Is the United MileagePlus Club Business Card Good For?

The United MileagePlus Club Business card is a credit card for small business owners or independent contractors who often fly on United and are looking for a premium travel credit card that’s packed full of perks.

If you think you’ll take advantage of the card’s benefits, you shouldn’t let its $450 annual fee stop you from getting it. You’ll get free United Club lounge access, which is worth $550; elite status with Hyatt and Hertz; and, when you fly on United, two free checked bags, expedited security and priority check-in, boarding and baggage handling. Last minute award booking will be cheaper, too; the $75 close-in booking fee is waived for cardholders.

In addition to earning the standard two miles per dollar spent on United flights, the Club business card also earns 1.5 miles on all other purchases. That means you’ll get 50 percent bonus miles on all non-United purchases, something you won’t get with any other co-branded airline card.

The card doesn’t come with a big sign-up bonus, though. You’ll get a $100 statement credit instead. If you’re looking for a quick boost to your United account, you might want to consider the MileagePlus Explorer Business card.

Airline Transfer Partner

Annual Fee

$450

APR

16.24%

Recommended Credit Score

700+

Type of Card

Visa

Issuer

Chase

Sign-Up Bonus:

You’ll get a $100 statement credit after making your first purchase.

Miles Earned:

2 miles per dollar with United

1.5 miles per dollar for all other purchases

What Do Your Miles Get You?

You can redeem MileagePlus miles for flights on any of the 26 Star Alliance member airlines, including Lufthansa, ANA, Air Canada, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, SAS and more. United also has 13 non-alliance partners: Aer Lingus, Aeromar, AirDolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Germanwings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Jet Airways and Silver Airways. You’ll be able to get anywhere in the world with United miles.

Unlike some frequent flyer programs, United MileagePlus does not add fuel surcharges to award flights, even if you book on partner airlines. That makes MileagePlus miles very valuable for certain routes. For example, some programs charge $600+ for transatlantic award flights on certain airlines, such as British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Air France. You don’t have to worry about that with United.

While United isn’t known for the quality of its premium cabins, there are some good business class redemptions available on United-operated international flights. You’ll typically save anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 miles in business class compared to United’s competitors. It may not be as swanky as Etihad or Emirates, but it’s still a lot better than economy.

United Airlines premium cabin service

Usage Perks:

United Club lounge membership

Priority check-in, boarding and baggage handling

Two free checked bags

Platinum status with Hyatt

Expedited security screening

Elite status with Hertz

No fees for close-in award bookings

Miles don’t expire

No foreign transaction fees

Usage Quirks:

Hefty annual fee

No sign-up bonus

$75 to $100 change fee

$200 fee to redeposit miles after cancellation

How Far Do Your Miles Go?

One of the best perks of booking with United is its generous stopover and open jaw policy. You’re allowed one stopover and one open jaw per international round-trip ticket. A stopover is a stop of any length of time en route to your final destination. An open jaw is when you depart from a different city than you arrived at.

United recently introduced restrictions for stopovers which take effect in the fall of 2016. According to the new rules, a stopover must take place within the same region as your final destination. That eliminates some itineraries, such as New York to Singapore with a stopover in Europe, but still allows for some great routing.

For instance, if you wanted to vacation in Europe, you could fly from Los Angeles to Frankfurt with a stopover in Paris. You could then use an open jaw and fly out of London. While you’d be responsible for getting from Frankfurt to London, you’d see three cities in Europe for the price of one round-trip award flight.